At GCC America’s Rio Grande Plant, A Crusher Meets The Need For A Clean Cement Additive.
By Mark S. Kuhar
A new Lokotrack ST2.8 mobile scalping screen is helping a Colorado cement plant to produce a clean additive for its production process, resulting in significant cost savings.
GCC America’s Rio Grande plant, located south of Pueblo, Colo., requires a very clean, 1- x 4-in. limestone product for the cement additive. The large Rio Grande plant, which opened in 2008, is one of the most technologically advanced cement mills in the country, and has its own limestone quarry on site.
To produce the clean additive efficiently and economically, GCC America turned to Inter-Mountain Construction Equipment (IMCE), Metso’s crushing and screening distributor in the state of Colorado.
Demonstration
After consulting with Greg Jones, president of Inter-Mountain Construction, and Seth Wheeler, Metso’s regional distribution manager, GCC America agreed to a demonstration of the new Lokotrack ST2.8 mobile scalping screen at the Rio Grande plant.
The operators at Rio Grande moved the ST2.8 into the plant’s quarry and fed it 8-in. minus blasted material to make the required 4-in. clean end product. Adding extended hopper wings to the ST2.8 allowed the operators at Rio Grande to feed the screen from the rear using a large CAT 980 wheel loader, which was also helped to increase productivity.
“The ST2.8 has been a pleasant surprise,” said Damian Flores, quarry manager at GCC America. “The quick set up and simple controls allow the operator to start work quickly. The tonnage we have achieved with this screen has exceeded my expectations.”
According to Jones, the ST2.8 has been able to produce approximately 500 tph of the limestone additive. GCC America is saving more than $20 a ton by producing the additive themselves, rather than buying it from an outside source.
Cleaner Material
With this type of application, fines have typically been a huge bottleneck to production. “But the ST2.8 has a larger throw than most of other machines in its class,” explained Jones, “which allows it to produce a cleaner material.”
The ST2.8 also has more screening area on the second deck compared to other mobile screens in the same size range, and this large screening area helps to improve fines separation. The unit’s powerful Caterpillar C4.4 diesel engine meets the latest emissions regulations, and a new hydraulic system allows for lower fuel consumption compared to similar screens.
“Metso has done an amazing job of engineering this plant,” said Jones. “It is extremely simple, which takes a very advanced engineering to pull off. There is excellent access to all of the hydraulic lines. The engine compartment is very roomy, the controls are extremely simple, and set up took us 3 or 4 minutes.”
Happy Buyers
GCC America is happy with the new Lokotrack ST2.8, as well as with their local Metso distributor. “They have used scalping screens from different manufacturers in the past,” said Jones, “but when they tried the ST2.8, they said it was the best scalping screen they’ve ever operated, and immediately asked about buying it.”
“GCC is very pleased to be working with a company like IMCE,” added Flores. “The fact that leaders of this company understand and have a sense of urgency for their customers is fantastic. IMCE has never let GCC Pueblo down in the past and has always been able to respond to any situation in the quarry.”
Information courtesy of Metso.
